Latest

January 2021

Resonance 2048
Format: CD

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Instrumental virtuosity can be a mixed blessing, even if some of us would put it in the category of “nice problem to have.”

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December 2020

The Moon, Magic, and Perfection in the Air

The Criterion Collection 1053
Format: BD

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Canadian Norman Jewison made some fine films in his 41-year career as a director, including The Cincinnati Kid (1965), In the Heat of the Night (1967), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), A Soldier’s Story (1984), and Agnes of God (1985). But Moonstruck (1987) stands out as a masterpiece of romantic comedy, a film so perfect I find no fault in it.

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December 2020

Located in Ultrecht, The Netherlands, TRPTK is a recording studio that specializes in producing multichannel, high-resolution music recordings. In our first video TRPTK video, released in May 2020, we talked to recording engineer Brendon Heinst about what attracted him to create high-resolution, multichannel productions. In this video, we talk to classical violinist Merel Vercammen and jazz musician Teis Semey about what drew them to record the TRPTK way and how they feel about the results achieved for their recordings.

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December 2020

Oh, the hi-fi equipment and music I have known.

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December 2020

JBL’s new Go 3 portable Bluetooth speaker, attractively priced at $39.95 USD, is no mere update but instead a virtual redesign of their popular Go 2.

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December 2020

The Nels Cline Singers: Share the Wealth

Blue Note 0737079
Format: CD

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Dave Douglas: Marching Music

Greenleaf Music 1078
Format: CD

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Jimi Hendrix’s epochal “Machine Gun” in the time of Richard Nixon, the Clash’s unforgiving “Clampdown” in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, Bruce Springsteen’s elegiac “Long Walk Home” in response to George W. Bush: musicians frequently have created some of their best work in response to autocratic leadership and social oppression. Those artists who employ vocals can easily make their opposition known; for composers who work in instrumental settings, it’s a higher bar.

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November 2020

A Slow-Burn, Murderous Road Trip Through Spain

The Criterion Collection 469
Format: BD

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Stephen Frears directed The Hit in 1984, shortly before making what many consider his best-known film, My Beautiful Laundrette (1985). In The Hit, Willie Parker (Terence Stamp), a London gangster, turns court evidence on his four co-conspirators. Flash forward ten years -- Willie, living the life of Riley in Spain, has a hacienda with a spectacular view, a fabulous book collection, and goes on bicycle rides accompanied by an inept bodyguard.

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November 2020

Powered and active loudspeakers continue to grow in popularity. They offer an inexpensive way to set up a high-quality music system without having to assemble separates: a receiver, integrated amplifier, or preamp and power amp. Audioengine has had great success with its larger A2+ stereo speaker system ($269/pair, all prices USD). Now they hope to repeat that with the less expensive A1 ($199/pair).

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November 2020

Copperline 105
Format: CD

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At 60, drummer Cindy Blackman Santana has had an exceptionally varied career that has seen her perform at both massive arenas and tiny clubs. The former came courtesy of her long tenure with singer-guitarist Lenny Kravitz, whom she first played with in 1993, the latter from her long apprenticeship as a jazz musician. In an interview, she once told me that the primary difference was what happened before and after the shows.

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October 2020

Prison-Reform Agitprop ca. 1947

The Criterion Collection 383
Format: BD

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In these weeks and months following the death of George Floyd, we’ve heard a lot about prison reform and police brutality. The issue has been around a while -- witness this 1947 film from director Jules Dassin and producer Mark Hellinger. But there’s a huge difference between the prison-reform controversy of the 1940s and today’s: Few Black faces are seen among the prisoners in Brute Force, who are mostly white. The themes, on the other hand, are all too familiar.

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